The Arc has expanded its Courim Center to support students from preschool to 12th grade.
Riviera Beach, Fla. (July 17, 2024) – The Arc of Palm Beach County is excited to debut a new, tuition-free charter school, Bodwell Academy. The academy provides education and life care services to students aged 3 to 22 who have varied levels of intellectual and orthopedic disabilities. Bodwell Academy is a $2.5 million expansion of The Arc’s Courim Center in Riviera Beach. The remodeled facility provides six individual classrooms for preschool, middle school, and high school students that allows them to learn separately, but interact on campus. .
“Bodwell Academy provides people with disabilities the opportunity to have an entire life span of care because they can stay at the same school until adulthood and then join our career programs,” said Bairbre Flood, The Arc’s head of schools. “The Arc can now bridge the education gap that currently exists between our clients’ teenage years and adulthood, which will give them consistency and ease their parents’ minds.”
Bodwell Academy is formatted into a lower and upper school with specialized services. The lower school offers a cutting-edge approach to educating preschool through eighth grade students who are unable to walk and talk independently, and equip them with a solid foundation in communication, mobility, sensory needs, and academics. The upper school serves students in grades 6 to 12, including postgraduates up to age 22, and provides a specialized curriculum that is focused on daily living and employment in order to help them transition into independent living. Up to 80 students can attend the school, with 40 in each program.
In addition to six new classrooms, Bodwell Academy also includes a media and library room, a nurse’s station, a high school “club room,” new sensory rooms, a large, open patio deck, a turf-covered courtyard, and a state-of-the-art children’s playground. To prepare for the fall 2024 school opening, The Arc of Palm Beach County is seeking teachers who are certified in special needs to join and support their expansion.
To learn more about The Arc of Palm Beach County’s educational services, visit arcpbc.org.
About The Arc of Palm Beach County
The Arc is changing the conversation around disabilities by defying definitions, inspiring possibilities, and improving the lives of the people we serve, their families, and our community. Since 1958, The Arc has envisioned a community where every person feels welcome, connected, and accepted.
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